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Post by Pawsforthought on Mar 22, 2013 11:44:58 GMT
The lady we went to see regarding Finn's recall suggested that for every dog, you should use scent work to feed them at least one of their meals a day. So you get some cones, or flower pots like us lol, and either tie the dog somewhere they can see you or get another person to hold onto them. Go to each flower pot and rub or touch the food on it, and put some food under JUST one. Go to them, let them sniff your hand, say 'take scent' and then 'go find it' (and release them) encourage them if needed, and REALLY go crazy (GOOD BOY WELL DONE etc) when they get the right pot. Tried it with Finn and he went and found the right one, but didn't eat his food lmao. He's not a very keen eater. Tried it with Milo and by god was it popular he seemed to get into a working frame of mind and went and searched all the pots meticulously for food. It's supposed to be a good starting point for getting your dog bonded to you when outside. You have to keep the dog's attention as you go to each pot too, and say things like 'WOW what have I got?' etc Thought some of you might want to give it a try just for fun and to make meal time more rewarding for your doggies? Curious to see how many different dogs could understand the game! It isn't just for scent dogs
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Post by collielover119 on Mar 22, 2013 16:00:50 GMT
This is really good, when I took Indi doggie training they did it there, without the 'take scent' She just pushed the buckets over with her paw I have two weeks off some I think its time for some doggie training and that will be a fun thing to keep her focused and excited about training
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Post by petitsfilous on Mar 22, 2013 16:08:07 GMT
Ooh! Definitely going to give this a go!! Sounds like fun. I don't know how well a frenchie will do but it probably helps that he loves his food!
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Post by Pawsforthought on Mar 22, 2013 19:41:36 GMT
Give Bernie a chance and he might just surprise you! collielover - it is quite good fun, isn't it?
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Post by collielover119 on Mar 22, 2013 19:44:10 GMT
Yeah and great to watch them really use their brains
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Post by BorderTerrier on Mar 22, 2013 19:47:12 GMT
Earl and I do this a lot! It's really good for the stimulation for the dog(s). I love seeing Earl's pointy little terrier tail go shooting up into the air, hackles raised, nose to the floor.as he goes.on his scent trail/work! If you hide smelly treats around, he doesn't know when he has found the last piece so he goes on forever! No, I stop Jim after a while so he doesn't loose hope bless him. PFT; this thread is exactly what we need to get us into the swing of this forum
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Post by McCuddles on Mar 22, 2013 20:46:58 GMT
I agree, scent work is great for the dogs and really works their brains!
They say that ten minutes of scent work is equivalent of thirty minutes free running, don't know how true this is but Dotty certainly loves her scent work and is great indoors for those days when the weather is so bad you don't fancy going outside.
Dotty is not so much food orientated but we will use her small soft toys both inside and out, sometimes I will hide two or three toys then ask her to find a certain one (they all have names!) and she absolutely loves it!
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Post by orpheous87 on Mar 22, 2013 23:16:58 GMT
I think I'll try this when the weather gets better so I have a bit more space for the girls to work! I've been thinking about doing some scent work with them, so what better thing to start with? Thanks PFT!
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Post by smokeybear on Mar 23, 2013 6:49:55 GMT
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Post by fatamorgana on Mar 23, 2013 11:31:22 GMT
I looked at courses, there seems to be part 1,2, 4, 5 and Skill Builder and Scent work. No part 3
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Post by Pawsforthought on Mar 23, 2013 11:37:00 GMT
Thanks guys! Be good to hear how some other doggies like it!
Thanks Smokeybear, glad to see you made the changeover! Thanks for the links, I'll check them out a bit later when I get back from shopping.
The lady who runs the training we're going to be attending is an APDT member and has a really fantastic reputation here, particularly with gundogs/scent dogs. I'm quite excited to be starting with her and see how we get on.
We got some liver treats (Thrive) and hid them around on the walk, one of us holding Finn. He LOVES going to find it and is very good at it. We use tree stumps etc instead of cones/flower pots. She also told us to throw food at him when he isn't paying attention and he soon works out the food is coming from us. He's already learnt it and comes bumbling up to us waiting for a game of 'find it,' where basically all you do is throw some food and he has to go find it! Lmao
It's all very fun and Finn loves putting his nose/brain to work!
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Post by smokeybear on Mar 23, 2013 13:59:39 GMT
I looked at courses, there seems to be part 1,2, 4, 5 and Skill Builder and Scent work. No part 3 There is a Scent 3 however it only takes place at one location, Railworld in Cambs, so if you click on that link you will see if there are any more planned for 2013; it is not necessary to do Scent 3 to progress to 4 and 5. HTH
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Post by fatamorgana on Mar 23, 2013 14:20:58 GMT
Thank you.
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Post by gladys on Mar 23, 2013 18:01:23 GMT
Smokeybear - Hey. You made the move over then.
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Post by BorderTerrier on Mar 24, 2013 8:39:22 GMT
Hi SM
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